1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seal member removing tool and a seal member removing method, which can remove a seal member closing a developing agent loading opening of a developing agent container from the developing agent container.
2. Related Background Art
In some conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, a process cartridge is detachably mounted on a body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus (referred to as "main body" hereinafter). The electrophotographic image forming apparatus serves to form an image on a recording medium by utilizing an electrophotographic image forming process and may include, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (laser beam printer or LED printer), an electrophotographic facsimile, an electrophotographic word processor and the like.
In the electrophotographic image forming apparatus utilizing the electrophotographic image forming process, a photosensitive drum (electrophotographic photosensitive member) uniformly charged by a charge means is selectively exposed in response to image information to form a latent image on the photosensitive drum. Thereafter, the latent image is developed by a developing means with toner to form a toner image. Then, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred onto a recording medium by a transfer means. In this way, image formation is effected.
On the other hand, the process cartridge which can detachably be mounted to the main body integrally incorporates the charge means, the developing means, a cleaning means and the photosensitive drum as a cartridge unit which can detachably be mounted to the main body. Incidentally, the process cartridge may incorporate the photosensitive drum and at least one of the charge means, developing means and cleaning means as a cartridge unit which can detachably be mounted to the main body, or may incorporate the photosensitive drum and at least the developing means as a cartridge unit which can detachably be mounted to the main body.
By using such a process cartridge, since the maintenance of the apparatus can be performed by an operator himself without any expert, operability is improved greatly. Thus, such a process cartridge has widely been used in the image forming apparatuses.
The toner is contained in a toner container (developing agent container) of the process cartridge. When the toner is loaded in the toner container, the toner is loaded through a toner loading opening previously formed in the toner container, and then, the toner loading opening is closed or sealed firmly by a seal member to prevent the toner from leaking from the toner loading opening during transportation.